Quality of life and urinary incontinence symptoms in women undergoing bariatric surgery: A combined case-cohort study

Objective Obese women with large abdominal volume may present with elevated intra-abdominal and intravesical pressure due to their high body mass index (BMI), which leads to an imbalance in the mechanism responsible for urinary continence. Thus, these women have a 2-fold chance of developing urinary incontinence (UI) than nonobese women. Because increased BMI represents a risk factor for UI development, we hypothesize that its reduction could alleviate or decrease the symptoms of this condition in obese women. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the impact of weight loss on the severity of UI symptoms and quality of life (QoL) in women undergoing bariatric surgery. Methods This was a combined case-cohort study lasting 1 year, with 26 obese women aged 18 to 59 years who underwent bariatric surgery and presented preoperative UI. The participants' BMI was calculated, their UI was assessed through the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, and QoL by the King's Health Questionnaire. Reassessments were performed at 3, 6, 9, and 12 postoperative months. Results We found no significant association between BMI reduction and prevalence and severity of UI. However, the 8-point reduction in BMI was sufficient to decrease the severity of UI. Quality of life improved significantly in 7 of the 9 domains evaluated. Conclusions According to the results of our study, we can conclude that the reduction in the prevalence and severity of UI together with weight loss induced by bariatric surgery was more evident in the first 3 months postoperatively, impacting positively the QoL of these women.